A FIREFIGHTER whose life was destroyed by a drink-driver from Oxford breaks down in tears as he describes the effect the accident has had on his children.

"My youngest son, who's 10, has really been affected," Mark Richards begins, but immediately has to stop.

When he recovers, he explains: "One of his first questions was about how long before I could get out of bed, because it happened just before the summer holidays, and whether it would be more than six weeks, because we wouldn't be able to play football."

He is again overwhelmed with emotion.

The harrowing interview has been released by Thames Valley Police, as it launches a renewed campaign to stamp out stupid and life-threatening drink-driving, especially over Christmas.

Mr Richards, 46, a married father-of-four, begins by recalling the that the day of July 12 this year, was a 'beautiful' afternoon.

He was riding his motorbike home from Coventry to Aylesbury when he decided to take a detour through Banbury.

He says: "I checked my mirrors: I remember seeing a black Volvo coming at speed and I thought 'blimey that's going quick' and then I was hit.

"I didn't lose consciousness but I don't remember the bit between him hitting me and me hitting the floor."

The CCTV later showed 46-year-old Arunas Kirilka of Kennington Road, Oxford, who was driving a black Volvo S60 on Oxford Road, did not even seem to try and stop.

Mr Richards was flung into the air while his bike was crushed between the Volvo and the car in front.

"Watching the CCTV, it was quite sobering," he says.

"To be honest it brought me to tears: it's quite a scary thing, and I didn't realise the guy that hit me had also driven through me and hit the car in front."

The father-of-four was left with a shattered pelvis, a shattered shoulder, a punctured lung and five broken ribs.

A breath test later revealed Kirilka was three times the drink-drive limit.

Mr Richards asks: "What's your thought process to get into a car when you're in that state?

"Because if you're three times over, you can't be walking straight – let alone being in charge of a vehicle. It's madness."

Before the crash, Mr Richards reveals he was a competitive athlete, doing road and cross-country running, cycling and even triathlons.

Afterwards, he spent the first six weeks in a wheelchair.

He has now been told he will never be able to raise one of his arms above shoulder height again.

And that means his career as a fireman is over.

He has also been told he will probably need a hip replacement within ten years because of the trauma.

Responding to a question from the interviewer, he says: "What's different since the accident?

"I don't run, and I can't cycle because I can't reach the handlebars because of this shoulder, so everything's changed.

"It's just constantly painful but that's because of what's happened."

Kirilka was handed a two-years prison sentence for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and banned from driving for five years.

Mr Richards, who worked for Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue meanwhile, has a life sentence.

He finishes the interview: "It's that question about how could you be driving in a residential area at that speed, that drunk... it just doesn't make sense does it?

"That one decision to drive through Banbury like he did and hit me... my life now is changed – not just mine but the family as well.

"Everything has had a knock-on effect.

"What is there to say? He's done the deed, I've got to live with this."

Launching its Christmas drink drive campaign Operation Holly today, Thames Valley Police warned that for the whole of December it would be breath-testing every single driver it dealt with involved in an incident.

The force also said it would be upping patrols and testing more motorists for drugs as well.

During last December's crackdown, the force arrested 316 drivers on suspicion of drink or drug driving.

That was slightly down from 325 in December 2015, but officers said they saw a rise in the number of drug-driving arrests.